Family Date Night

Time with my little family has always been precious, but it's even more treasured now that we're not with Brent on a daily basis. He was in Little Rock last weekend, and we had the best time! He brought the wagon back from the storage unit in Houston..thankfully it was easy to get to...and the girls LOVED going for rides! It was Reece's first time in the wagon and she was a huge fan.

After dinner at a yummy new burger joint in town, it doesn't get much better than sharing a milkshake with your daddy...

or your mommy!

Brent's 37th Birthday

Brent celebrated his 37th year a few weeks ago with his 3 best girls. We picked him up at the airport on Thursday and headed straight out to the lake for some quality family time. The best gift we can get these days! The girls were so excited to see him, as always...and of course so was I! I forgot my camera, though, so all I had was my phone. And, the video of the girls helping him blow out his candles was super cute...too bad I can't get it to upload. Sorry!

New favorite thing to do is go to the grocery store and 'drive the car'...

This is made even better when Daddy is the one pushing the cart!

I just love this picture. These sweet moments make all the other chaotic ones so worth it!

Look Who's Getting Crafty!

I'm sure that every other mom does this activity with her children weekly, but for the Hodges' girls, this was a BIG day...we made our own crayons!!! I really am so proud of myself. I'm a lot of things, but two things I am not are crafty and creative. Conlee has been doing all sorts of artsy activities at school, and I have recently become inspired to be the kind of mom who has fun and creative projects for her to do at home, too. Who knew, but basically the Internet can help anyone be creative! I got the idea for the crayons because Gigi and Paps just sent the girls some really cool crayons they got on their trip to Hawaii. They were different designs like flip flops, suns, and other beachy things. My curiosity was peaked because I couldn't figure out how they were made...well, now I know! See below if you're looking for a fun, easy and entertaining activity with the kiddos...

I ordered this cookie mold pan off Amazon. It's the Wilton brand, and they have everything. This is the 'girl' design with flowers, purses, castles, crowns, lips, etc. They have a boy design and also Halloween, Christmas, Snowmen, really anythig you can think of. This would be a great little party favor to give out...make some cool crayons, wrap them in cellophane and tie them with a ribbon. Just a thought.
Conlee was my crayon peeler and breaker. She went through all her crayons and gave me all the broken ones or ones she didn't like. I wish I had this idea a few weeks ago because I just threw a way a huge bag of broken old crayon pieces. Oh well!

Next you coat the pan with Pam or some non-stick cooking spray. Then you put the pieces of broken crayon in each section, careful not to overload them. Pop them in the oven at 350 for 3 - 5 minutes. Just watch them until they're melted.

Pull them out and let them cool for a few minutes. Then stick the cookie sheet in the freezer to let them harden up. You don't have to freeze them too long...

Then pull them out and you've got super cute new crayons that are sure to make your kids happy! I really still can't believe this worked and it was so easy!

This one is my favorite!

Pajama Party with The Cow!

We headed on over to Chick-fil-a in our pajamas this morning to have breakfast with The Cow. Conlee was in heaven. She's obsessed with Chick-fil-a (who can blame her?!) and she LOVES the cow! Reece was a cow admirer from afar...when we got up close for the photo, turned out she wasn't a huge fan. Conlee got to decorate a pillow case signed by The Cow himself, enjoy chicken biscuits for breakfast (YUM), and play on the indoor playground. What a way to start the day!

Bathtub Painting Fun

Thanks to my good friend, Courtney Frazier, my girls had a fun treat in the bathtub last night! Courtney is always the most creative person I know, and she posted on her blog not too long ago about how if you put food coloring in shaving cream, the bathtub can become your kids' canvas! What she forgot to mention, is that the 'paint' doesn't come off the skin very well, and this morning my girls still looked a little tie-dyed. Oh well! If we killed an hour in the afternoon, it was well worth it!

Aquarium with EI and Granddad

A true highlight of our entire month away was the afternoon we spent with Granddad and EI at the Houston Aquarium. It was amazing! The aquarium was really so impressive...by far better than anything I've ever seen in 10 years living right along the coast. They had everything...even a white tiger?! That part was a little strange, and I've got to admit that after the tiger had paced back and forth in front of Reece a few times, I felt he was looking at her with a bit of spark in his eye. It was time for us to go...the glass separating him from my baby was beginning to look thinner and thinner!

Conlee and Mia do Houston!

In early August, Ali and I were able to make plans to both be in Houston at the same time so the girls (and let's face it, us!) could spend some quality time together. It's amazing to me how at such a young age, Conlee and Mia still pick up with each other right where they left off...never skipping a beat, just truly so, so happy to be playing together again. We had a big time for two weeks, mostly playing in various pools around town. There are still some great pics of these girls I have yet to download from my camera, but I thought I'd start with these. It makes my heart so happy to see these two together...we love you, Mia!!!

Kiddie Acres

One of the saddest things about not living near the Fraziers anymore is not being privy to all the super cool mom things that Courtney does with her girls. So, while Brent had the girls in Austin, he and Ginna met up with Courtney, Audrey and Charlotte at a place called Kiddie Acres. I'm still not exactly sure what it's all about, but based on the photos they took while they were there, it looks like they had a great time!